3/9/2018, 6 a.m.

BALTIMORE  As part of its commitment to maintaining reliable electricity delivery and responsible environmental stewardship, BGE welcomes ospreys back to Maryland and reminds customers about the company’s raptor protection initiative— Osprey Watch.

Customers are encouraged to report osprey nests located on BGE equipment by emailing the location and a photo to OspreyWatch@bge.com. BGE will remove the nest if no birds or eggs are present. If the nest is inhabited, BGE will either relocate the nest or place shielding on its equipment to protect the birds and mitigate the risk of an outage.

"So many of our customers and employees take great pride in our state being a seasonal destination for ospreys," said Alexander Núñez, BGE's senior vice president of regulatory and external affairs and member of the board of Audubon Maryland-DC. “Through Osprey Watch, community members have the ability to help protect the birds and also promote smart energy for customers."

Since 2016, BGE’s Osprey Watch has removed or shielded more than 40 nests from poles and other service equipment. In addition to protecting raptors, BGE’s Osprey Watch helps improve electric reliability. In 2017, BGE recorded the lowest number of total outages and lowest average duration of outages in company history. During the past 10 years, the number of electric outages has decreased by 49 percent and outage length has been reduced by 41 percent.

Last November, Exelon, BGE’s parent company, named Osprey Watch a grand prize winner during its annual Exelon Environmental Achievement Awards. BGE presented the $10,000 prize to the Phoenix Wildlife Center in Phoenix, Maryland, to support its work in rehabilitating more than 1,500 wild animals every year.